Michaelis Stays Top Dog, PokerStars Pros Moreira de Melo and Horecki Remain in Prague Main Event Hunt
Paul Michaelis had to be rightfully hopeful for a good Day 3 of PokerStars Championship Prague Main Event considering he came in as chip leader, but he's likely positively thrilled with his performance after he finished in the top spot once again.
The young German bracelet winner wrapped up a profitable five-level grind with 1,270,000 in chips, giving him the lead among the remaining 49 players who will see Day 4's dawn.
Michaelis maintained his spot despite some late adversity, with opponents playing back at him and hitting him with coolers for doubles. There simply wasn't anyone close enough to challenge him.
Still, Michaelis' run isn't the only notable storyline among the final 49.
For one thing, PokerStars Team Pros Fatima Moreira de Melo and Marcin Horecki remain in the hunt. Moreira de Melo in particular had a fantastic and eventful Day 3. In an indication of how hot she'd run, she won an early all-in pot with ace-king suited against ace-king offsuit, flopping her foe dead.
Then, she won two separate three-way all ins. The first time, ace-king suited was good to her again as she outran queens and nines by flopping an ace and holding. The second time, she sent experienced foes James Akenhead and Martin Staszko to the rail when queens held against ace-queen and ace-ten.
Moreira de Melo finished with 723,000 while her teammate Horecki finished with 450,000.
Fresh off a second-place finish for over $1.1 million in WPT Five Diamond at Bellagio, Alex Foxen is also looking to continue a breakout 2017. He flew over for Day 1b right after the big score, fought off jet lag to make it through the first two days, and appears to be hitting his stride now and looking like a player to watch closely. He bagged up 761,000.
Also of import on Day 3 was the money bubble bursting. Although it took longer than expected as a number of all-in players survived, eventually someone had to go home empty-handed — except the bubbling players actually didn't since they received hefty promotional packages worth $30,000 courtesy of PokerStars.
Some of those who cashed on Day 3 included PokerStars Team Pros Jake Cody and Igor Kurganov, as well as Nick Maimone, Asi Moshe, Georgios Zisimopoulos, Ali Reza Fatehi, and pro racing driver Dani Juncadella.
Day 4 plays out starting at noon on Saturday and should feature an identical format to Day 3, except with heftier blinds starting at 6,000/12,000/2,000. Be sure to tune back in to PokerNews for more live updates.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Place | Player | Home Country | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paul Michaelis | Germany | 1,270,000 |
| 2 | Michal Mrakes | Czech Republic | 1,032,000 |
| 3 | Jason Wheeler | USA | 931,000 |
| 4 | Navot Golan | Israel | 888,000 |
| 5 | Anatolii Zyrin | Russia | 825,000 |
| 6 | Serhii Popovych | Ukraine | 812,000 |
| 7 | Gavin O'Rourke | Ireland | 803,000 |
| 8 | Assaf Ben Yosef | Israel | 793,000 |
| 9 | Alex Foxen | USA | 761,000 |
| 10 | Dario Barriocanal | Spain | 740,000 |